Last summer was eye opening for me. My nephew was a senior in high school and starting the college application process. I listened and took mental notes as my sister updated me on their process of planning for college in the fall. This included making college visits, filling out applications, completing the financial aid process and of course college decisions. To say this process seemed overwhelming was an understatement!

College admissions may seem like a ways off, my oldest son is a high school sophomore, but I'm a firm believer in educating yourself early. I began to get informed and wanted to share some things that have helped me along the way:

Start by getting yourself a green composition notebook - to keep all your notes together and to represent the money you will be saving.

Begin to learn about the financial aid process - Our high school offered a financial aid information meeting, it was advertised for juniors and seniors, but anyone could attend, so we did.

Attend a financial aid seminar - though these might not be free they are worth considering. After hearing good things from other parents, in Massachusetts, we signed up for the seminar “Pay for College Without Sacrificing Your Retirement” by Tim Higgins. These are offered at local high schools (if you have several schools close to you compare prices as they are not all the same – instead of going to the closest school, we saved money by driving to a school that was a few extra minutes away). There was some great information and I highly recommend it. I received a complimentary copy of the book under the same name “Pay for College Without Sacrificing Your Retirement” and have implemented several strategies that were recommended.

Participate in free webinars – there are many companies that offer free webinars in hopes that you will go on to purchase services from them. Two that we have participated in are:

“7 Ways to Locate Scholarships & Money to Pay for College” by Kantis Simmons. We found Kantis a few years ago when we attended WPI’s (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) STEM Saturday program. Kantis is a motivational speaker, presenting all around the country, and is also the author of “Playing Your “A” Game: Stay Motivated, Remain Focused and Succeed in School and Life”. He received over $300,000 of free scholarship money to pay for his college degrees. We signed up for his mailing list and were notified when he was running his webinar.

CollegeVine – offers a college mentorship program that matches high school students with mentors to navigate the college process. They offer free webinars on a variety of college related topics. We signed up for their mailing list and receive notifications of upcoming programs. The webinars that we have joined were not specific financial aid topics, though I believe the more desirable the college candidate the better position they will be in for financial aid.

Create an account on CollegeBoard.com – The College Board site has a lot of information, including a Net Price Calculator. This tool allows you to enter your financial information and will provide a personalized estimate of what you would be expected to pay at specific colleges. They have a great article “Focus on Net Price Not Sticker Price” that explains how this works.

Check Out Your Local Library – Libraries have lots of resources which may include books on Scholarships, a Scholarship/Grant database and guest speakers. Our library held a Financial Aid and Scholarship Workshop in conjunction with the North Central Educational Opportunity Center (NCEOC), which provided an overview of the financial aid application process and information on loans and scholarships. NCEOC offers free services to residents of 29 cities and towns in North Central Massachusetts and can be reached at (978) 630-9823.

Author

Welcome! I'm Debbi and I'm so glad you're here! As a mom of two boys I found it difficult to find resources on STEM programs for my kids. I spent hours researching which resulted in my kids having some amazing STEM opportunities. I want to share information with other families. I try to focus on free or low-cost events so that opportunities are available to children no matter their family's income level.

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